Employers press CalSTRS on Pending Work Items, invoices and system defects; agency pledges follow-up

Mia Tannoia‑Hill and other CalSTRS staff walked through Pending Work Items in the Secure Employer Website and described planned enhancements and timelines: many request types will have 30‑day completion targets, employers can view and act on Pending Work Items by report source or unit, and secure‑messaging categories will be refined to improve routing.

Mia highlighted common Pending Work Item types — Employer Reporting Requests, Service Credit Purchase Requests, employer certification of death before retirement, unused sick‑leave requests (DB only), termination requests and refunds — and summarized required actions and due dates. She said employer‑suppressed warnings will be reviewed starting in October and that enhancements (action‑required dates, Pending Work Item reports, and per‑item timelines in job aids) are in development.

Employers described persistent defects and backlogs
Multiple employers reported defects and delays: enrollment issues that prevent reporting, PEPRA/IRC cap rejections, incorrect export limits (200 rows), notification problems when documents are voided, and invoice discrepancies that produce erroneous contribution amounts. Maegen Wallick acknowledged the backlog and said CalSTRS has centralized fixes under one area, is batching status updates to employers monthly, and will triage high‑priority items.

On invoice anomalies and contribution disputes
Xuan Tran, a contributions supervisor, told an employer not to pay an invoice they believe is incorrect and asked them to send file or payroll numbers and CID to contributions@CalSTRS.com for review. Staff indicated refunds or reconciliations will be handled after investigation; employers were advised to document file IDs and escalate through the Advisory Committee inbox when necessary.

Next steps
CalSTRS committed to publishing Pending Work Item timelines in a single job aid, to expand exports and panel capacities, to post updated release notes and workarounds for known defects, and to continue open forum sessions and virtual vendor and employer visits to resolve outstanding scenarios.